All Features articles – Page 637
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Features
War on Waste
The government is getting tough on energy waste, so being green is more than just good PR. It is vital to your survival. Here’s what the Part L proposals say – and how they’ll affect you.
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Features
21st-century classic
Foster s design for a covered square in the heart of the British Museum meant the engineer had to sit 800 tonnes of steel and glass over the world-famous and grade I-listed Reading Room.
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Features
‘I have worked in construction all my life and now I have given my life to it’
While more and more companies are paying attention to site safety, there has been precious little headway in on-site health and workers are paying the price.
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Why can’t they win at home?
Architects Zaha Hadid, Alsop & Störmer, Branson Coates and David Chipperfield were chosen to represent British design excellence at last week s Venice Biennale. So, why aren t they landing more major projects in the UK?
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Is the act bankrupting us?
Despite healthy orders, insolvencies seem to be on the increase. Are firms pushing the self-destruct button to avoid paying when they lose adjudications? And if they are, what can you do to get your money?
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The big softie
In the drive to maximise profits and increase global competitiveness through mergers and acquisitions, companies often lose sight of soft issues an oversight that can cripple the whole project.
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Features
The ties that bind
Does making a partnering agreement contractually binding contradict the whole idea of partnering? Not necessarily: it can demonstrate both parties commitment to the process.
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Features
Why clients need carrots
Incentives to get a job done on time usually rely more on punishment than reward, but a little hard-nosed calculation might persuade clients that profit is the better motivator.
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Features
Cost study: Day centres and sheltered housing
How much should a PFI care home cost? This study looks at where the money went on a £2.19m design-and-build contract for two day centres and sheltered housing for 50 elderly people in west London. Compiled by ECD Architects and Head Projects
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Features
How the roof is supported by the existing structures
Spanning the British Museum s central Great Court and encircling the grade I-listed Reading Room with a delicate steel and glass roof was an immense challenge for the project s engineer, Buro Happold. Not only did the weight of the roof have to be carried by the surrounding listed buildings ...
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Features
Green for life
Envest, the BRE s new software program, gives architects instant estimates for the environmental impact of their designs. How well does it work?
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Features
How much of what?
When you send your builder a notice saying you aren t going to pay the full amount asked for, do you have to say what you re withholding the money from? Well, it depends on the contract
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Features
The real story
Malcolm Clarke says construction isn t all big boys and cowboys. The NFB boss wants to tell clients and government about the smaller firms that make up 85% of the industry.
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Ideas above its station
Walsall's landmark bus station does a lot more than shield passengers from the rain. It makes double-decker travel glamorous.
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Features
Appointments
Contractors Midas Construction has appointed Nigel Tiffin, previously with EBC Building and Maintenance, senior estimator. David Tennant has been appointed group environmental manager at MJ Gleeson. Housebuilders Steve Wiseman has been promoted to Scottish regional managing director at housebuilder McCarthy & Stone. Alistair Hare has been promoted to group commercial ...
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Features
The away game
In the third article on the FIDIC suite of international forms, they are found wanting when it comes to recovery of costs because of incidents outside contractors control.
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Features
Pane barrier
Transforming the bold, irregular curves of Foster and Partners' GLA building into simple, flat glazing panels meant double geometry for the design team.
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Features
The Birmingham firm that won the first quality mark
Millman Group is the first Birmingham firm to win the quality mark. Construction minister Nick Raynsford gratefully awarded the certificate at last week's Interbuild conference to manager Rebekah Millman. Raynsford and Millman also did an impromptu interview with local radio legend Ed Doolan on BBC Radio WM. Director David Millman ...
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Features
Clash points
The benefits of involving specialists early in the design process are huge. Savings of up to 60% can be made. But clients are reluctant. Why is this? Are they being poorly advised and what are they afraid of?